K G Bopaiah elected Karnataka speaker

December 30, 2009 13:14 IST

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader K G Bopaiah was on Wednesday elected as the speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The elections were held after Jagadish Shettar stepped down the post to be sworn in as a cabinet minister in the B S Yeddyurappa government.

The elections to the post of Speaker took place amid confusion and protest at the Legislative Assembly. The opposition was demanding that the elections be postponed in the event of the death of Kannada superstar Dr Vishnuvardhan. The opposition even protested in the well of the House, stating that the entire day should be dedicated to condolence of the departed star.

However, the BJP went ahead with the process and elected Bopaiah as speaker. Jagadish Shettar had stepped down from the post during the rebellion against Yeddyurappa two months ago. He was being projected as a prospective chief ministerial candidate by the Janardhan Reddy brothers. However, after the intervention of the high command, Shettar settled for a cabinet berth.